Merry Christmas and thank you from the year 4 team

 

From all the staff in year 4, thank you for your support, kind words and generous Christmas gifts. 

We all hope that all have happy and healthy holidays and we will look forward to more Inspired to learn activities in the Spring term.

Kindest regards,

The year 4 team. xxx

Year 4 superstars and reminders for tomorrow

 

Congratulations year 4 (and 3) for a fantastic performance of no-one wraps like an elf. The children were fantastic on stage and they really impressed me with their confidence, singing and delivery.  The class seem very comfortable on stage which makes me very excited for next term and our Shakespeare performance. 

The children will have come home with their Macbeth scripts this afternoon. We had a brief read through, so that every child has read or heard their lines at least once already. If children get the chance to familiarise themselves with their lines over the holidays that would be very helpful in preparation for next term. 

Costume notifications will come home early next term, but typically children are asked to wear black leggings or joggers and a black T-shirt. 

A quick reminder about tomorrow.

We will meet you and your child at the location stated in your email at normal drop off time (from 8.45am). Children should bring with them:

- a coat

- a drink

- morning snack

- special packed lunch

- a change of party clothes (should they wish)

- a backpack or suitable bag to carry the above items. 

Following our morning activity we will walk back to school to have packed lunch followed by an afternoon party. 

Year 4 children need to start the day in school uniform but then may change into party gear for the afternoon if they wish.

And finally, a big thank you to all of you for helping to create special memories at POW. From finding various fancy dress items and play costumes, to wrapping lunchboxes as presents and supporting POWSA. We couldn't do what we do without you - so thank you so very much. We appreciate everything you do, as do your wonderful children. 

Lots of love and thanks,

Ms Browne, Mrs Hall, Mr MacBean and Mrs Thomas. 

 

Last week of Autumn term in year 4

 

Hello everyone,

I can't believe it is the last week of the Autumn term next week. The children have worked really hard this term and should be very proud of all that they have achieved so far. 

This week, in addition to their other learning, the children have done a fantastic job of learning their lines and preparing for no-one wraps like an elf. Thank you to everyone that brought in their child'd costume in last week. Please can all costumes come in on Monday please as we are doing a full dress rehearsal before the performances on Tuesday and Thursday. 

Next week,  there are some changes to the timetable as we have a number of additional activities happening. 

The last spelling test will take place on Monday morning and no new spellings will be sent home until next year. If you are keen for your child to continue to practice spellings then your child can go on Ed shed and practice their personal spelling lists (which I will update following Monday's spelling tests) and also an assignment which will run until July called 'Spellings to learn this year'. 

There will be no specific home learning tasks, other than reading this week. Please could you ensure that reading sessions are added to reading journals. We will not be collecting journals next week but I would like every child to have at least 1 journal entry when we return in January please.  

Monday

AM -  It is our KS2 dress rehearsal (please ensure your child has their costumes) 

PM -  We will be singing carols to care home residents. 

Tuesday 

11am our KS2 performance to families. 

LUNCH - Christmas dinner day. 

Wednesday

PM -  In the afternoon we have a pantomime at school. It is usual for year 4 children to be given small acting roles. 

Evening: We have the Early years and year 4 carol service (accompanied by the POW choir). 5 - 6pm. 

Thursday

11am our KS2 performance to families. 

Friday

AM -  Year 3 and 4 end of term surprise. We will meet you at the library from 8.45am. Children should bring their school bags, snacks and packed lunches. We will be in the library before our special treat and then will walk back to school. 

LUNCH -  families are encouraged to send a special Christmas Packed Lunch (wrapped up like a Christmas Parcel) for their child to enjoy in their classrooms (see recent email for more details). 

PM - Christmas party time and a special guest. 

As ever, if you have any questions, comments or concerns please get in touch. 

Kind regards,

Ms Browne, Mrs Hall, Mr MacBean and Mrs Thomas. xx

 

Upcoming carol concert and Play costumes

 

It only feels like yesterday that the children were dressing up as shepherds, angels, donkeys and wise men to take part in our yearly Christmas carol services. Now in year 4, it is the children's turn to read passages during the carol service and to sing as part of the choir. 

This week, Mr MacBean and I will be asking the children if they would like to be involved in doing readings in the service which will be held after school on Wednesday 13th December. We realise that it is a very busy time so if possible please discuss with your child to warn them if they will not be able to attend the service to avoid disappointment. 

If you know that your child would like to be involved and can attend on 13th December please email me directly c.browne@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk  

(details of the location and times are available in a recent newsletter).        

Finally, please can all costumes for our winter performance, no-one wraps like an elf be brought into school this Friday please. 

  

Spellings, Home learning and our Winter Performances

 

Hello everyone,

The rehearsals for our Winter performances are coming along but please can we ask that you practice your child's lines with them. With this in mind learning lines for no-one wraps like an elf is one of this week's home learning tasks. 

Homelearning:

1) Practice lines for our winter performance.

2) Complete times table booklets (these should be returned to school on Monday 4th December) 

3) Read regularly and record reading in reading journals (these should be returned every Friday please). 

Spellings:

Please see below the spellings for this and next week. Hard copied of spellings were given out on Tuesday 

Please get in touch with a member of the team if you have any questions or have any concerns about costumes for our performances. 

Kind regards,

the year 4 team 

 

Upcoming dates and activities, swimming update and potential present idea

 

Hello everyone,

The Christmas period has definitely arrived at The Prince of Wales School and I hope you and your child enjoyed walking though the wardrobe into Narnia on Monday. On Monday, the children started some inspired writing and on Thursday the children will be visited by the team from The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares for a creative writing workshop based on the characters from Narnia. 

This Friday, children are invited to wear either a Christmas jumper or dress up as an elf for the day our annual Christmas Jumper Day / Elf Day / Wear Something Christmassy Day /Wear Any Non-School Uniform Day! Children are encouraged to take part in their own way, in exchange for a raffle prize/donation to POWSA ahead of the POWSA Christmas Fayre on Sunday 3rd December 2023.

Also on this day we will be having our annual ‘Christmas Craft Day’ which will see children across the school working together in mixed-age groups to complete a range of craft activities. 

Christmas Performances

Key Stage 2 are currently working hard to learn our Christmas performance, No-one wraps like an Elf. Tomorrow (Wednesday), children should be coming home with a list of the costumes they will need. An electronic version of this can be viewed here.   If you have any concerns or questions about your child's costume, please get in touch. 

It would be very helpful if you could practice your child's lines with them at home please. 

Pencil Cases from Spring term onwards

After the Christmas holidays, children are welcome to start bringing in their own pencil cases if they wish. We will always provide the equipment your child needs but once your child is at middle school they will need to bring in their own supplies.  

Upcoming Dates

Please note that it is the last swimming session for year 4 will be this Thursday 30th November.

Friday 1st December - Christmas Technology Day / Dress as an elf / Xmas Jumpers

Sunday 3rd December - POWSA School Fayre

Week of Monday 4th December - Year 4 passport progress check 

Wednesday 5th December - Local visit to view their sculptures (information to follow)

Tuesday 12th December - Winter performances

Wednesday 13th December - Carol Service (year 4, Reception & Preschool)

Thursday 14th December - winter performances

Friday 15th December - Last Day of term and Party Day

Tuesday 2nd January - All children return

Monday 15th January - Closing date to apply for middle school (Link)

Wednesday 7th February - Shakespeare by the sea (tickets now on sale link)

If you have any questions or concerns please get in touch. 

Kind regards,

The Year 4 team

Home learning and play update

 

Dear parents and carers,

Just a quick updates about the upcoming year 4 plays. Casting for both Macbeth and our Christmas play have now both been finalised. Your child should know the name of the character they are in both of these plays although if you have any questions or concerns please get in touch. 

Home learning

Home learning is timetables practice and play scripts. Your child should start learning their lines for our Christmas play as part of their home learning this week please. Scripts were sent home yesterday but please make sure that scripts are brought into school everyday for rehearsals. 

On Thursday, children will also be sent home with their Square numbers times tables booklet. Please can you encourage your child to complete these booklets. They will need to complete sections 10 - 20 and the deadline for returning the booklets is Monday 4th December. Should your child complete these booklets before the 4th feel free to bring them back to school and continue to encourage your child to practice their tables as near to daily as you can manage. 

Upcoming dates:

Thursday 23rd November - School Disco

Friday 1st December - Christmas Technology Day / Dress as an elf / Xmas Jumpers

Week of Monday 4th December - Year 4 passport progress check 

Sunday 3rd December - POWSA School Fayre

Tuesday 12th December - Winter performances

Wednesday 13th December - Carol Service (year 4, Reception & Preschool)

Thursday 14th December - winter performances

Friday 15th December - Last Day of term and Party Day

Tuesday 2nd January - All children return

Monday 15th January - Closing date to apply for middle school (Link)

Wednesday 7th February - Shakespeare by the sea (tickets now on sale link) 

As ever if you have any questions or anything you'd like to discuss, email or come and see a member of the team. 

Kind regards,

The year 4 team. 

Plays, Home learning and upcoming dates

 

Hello everyone, 

This week, the children have been thinking about our Shakespeare play and have made choices about what size and what role they would ideally like to perform.  Whilst the Shakespeare play isn't until February, we will also have a Christmas performance in December. It is my hope that I can cast these two plays so that any child that would like a main role and misses out on having a main role in Macbeth, will be able to have a main role in our Christmas performance. 

All children will be given the opportunity to audition for their first choice role next week and have been sent home today with lines to rehearse. An electronic copy of these lines can be found here.   

Home Learning

This week's home learning supports the learning we are doing in Geography. All children have been given a paper copy of this learning but an electronic version can be found here. The children have been asked to identify countries around the world that their friends or extended family have links to. They also need to identify counties around the UK that they have visited or have links to through family or friends. 

Spellings

Below are the spellings for the fortnight:

Upcoming dates  

Monday 20th November - Christmas Box appeal 

Monday 20th November - Year 3 & 4 RE visit (see emailed letter for details)

Thursday 23rd November - School Disco

Friday 1st December - Christmas Technology Day / Dress as an elf / Xmas Jumpers

Week of Monday 4th December - Year 4 passport progress check 

Sunday 3rd December - POWSA School Fayre

Tuesday 12th December - Winter performances

Wednesday 13th December - Carol Service (year 4, Reception & Preschool)

Thursday 14th December - winter performances

Friday 15th December - Last Day of term and Party Day

Tuesday 2nd January - All children return

Monday 15th January - Closing date to apply for middle school (Link)

Wednesday 7th February - Shakespeare by the sea (tickets now on sale link)

          

As ever, if you have any questions or concerns please talk to a member of the team. 

Kind regards,

Ms Browne & Mrs Hall & Mr MacBean & Mrs Thomas. 

Home learning, School learning and upcoming events

 

Upcoming events:

Monday 13th November - Odd Socks Day

From Monday 13th November - Therapeutic Thinking week

Tuesday 14th November - World Diabetes Day (children in year 4 may wear blue nail varnish on this day if they wish Link)

Friday 17th November - Children in need day. (See emailed letter for more details)

Monday 20th November - Christmas Box appeal 

Thursday 23rd November - School Disco

Home Learning
For this week's home learning the children have some subtractions to complete. 
All the children were sent home with a worksheet but if your didn't make it home please follow the link here.   

Maths learning in class and beyond

In class at the moment, the children are learning how to subtract two 4-digit numbers, using the column method. As with most maths learning, any additional practice will help your child perfect this skill. Later on this term, and into next term we will provide addition and subtraction practice opportunities during early bird maths sessions but any extra practice at home that would be beneficial. 

During out maths fluency sessions, we are currently learning the square numbers: 2 x 2 = 4; 3 x 3 = 6, 4 x 4 = 16; 6 x 6 = 36 etc. Again any opportunities to practice these tables at home will be useful. 

I strongly recommend regular Times Tables Rockstar practice at home where possible, although some children may also enjoy using hit the button. On this site there is a square numbers game selection and the children need to chose the answer form a selection, which can help children gain confidence. 

For those children that may need some additional practice learning addition and subtraction facts, there is also an option on hit the button, or you may want to try Numbots. Numbots starts off slowly but as the children progress through the levels that addition and subtraction questions increase in difficulty. If you would like your child to access this follow the link and they can use the same login as they use for TTRS. 

If you have any questions or comments about any aspect of your child's learning or upcoming events, please get in touch with a member of the year 4 team.  

      

Autumn 2 - Dates and home learning

 

Hello everyone, 

We hope you and your child had a good break and are ready for an exciting Autumn 2 term.  

At the start of this term, children will be writing about the Gunpowder Plot in English and will be developing their addition and subtraction skills in maths. In science we will be looking at changing states on matter (water can evaporate or freeze for example) and we will have a Geography focus this term, looking at counties, rivers and the water cycle. 

Home learning

The home learning for this week has a short maths and English activity. The activities are deliberately short as I would like as many children as possible to complete their home learning as possible. A link to the home learning sheet can be found here. 

Spellings

We now only have two spelling groups. Those children that were previously in Trinkle will now be in Logan. For this term, spellings will be learnt over two weeks. 

   
Upcoming dates 

Please note Year 4 will continue to go swimming this term. 

Wednesday 1st November - Poundbury Art workshop (in class)

Friday 3rd November - Children present their ROAR innovations

Friday 10th November - Poundbury Art workshop (in class)

Sunday 12th November - Remembrance Sunday

Tuesday 14th November - World Diabetes Day (children in year 4 may wear blue nail varnish on this day if they wish Link)

Monday 13th November - Odd Socks Day

From Monday 13th November - Therapeutic Thinking week

Friday 17th November - Children in need day

Monday 20th November - Christmas Box appeal 

Thursday 23rd November - School Disco

Friday 1st December - Christmas Technology Day / Dress as an elf / Xmas Jumpers

Week of Monday 4th December - Year 4 passport progress check 

Sunday 3rd December - POWSA School Fayre

Tuesday 12th December - Winter performances

Wednesday 13th December - Carol Service (year 4, Reception & Preschool)

Thursday 14th December - Winter performances

Friday 15th December - Last Day of term and Party Day

Tuesday 2nd January - All children return

Monday 15th January - Closing date to apply for middle school (Link)

Wednesday 7th February - Shakespeare by the sea (ticket now on sale link)

Shakespeare

From next week, the children will start leaning about our Shakespeare performance. In a few weeks children will be asked to decide what sort of role they would like (main part, medium part or small speaking part). It would be helpful if you could talk to your child about the size roles they may like. They should be aware that for main parts there is an expectation that children will need to practice and learn their lines at home. 

As ever if you have have any questions or concerns please get in touch. 

Kind regards,

The Year 4 Team 

    

Year 4 Exhibition of Learning

 

Dear parents and carers,

Year 4 would like to invite you to their exhibition of learning next Friday 20th October from 3pm in the staffroom. This will be an opportunity for you to learn about their innovations they are developing for the lions ROAR 2023 project. You will also be able to sample the biscuits they are making for DT as well as hearing more about their time at Hooke Court. 

I know events during the day can be tricky to attend, especially in the same week that we have school consultations. If you are unable to attend please let me know and we will save you a biscuit to try and arrange for your child to talk to another adult about their ROAR design. 

For hygiene reasons, in preparation for our biscuit baking next week, it would be helpful if children come to school on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with short, clean fingernails - thank you.  

All classes at POW, including year 4 will have a range of exhibitions of learning throughout the year.  

Please get in touch with any questions you may have. 

 

REMINDER - Dorchester Literary Festival

REMINDER - On Monday afternoon, the children in Year Four are attending part of the Dorchester Literary Festival.

At the event they will be meeting the author Richard Pickard.

Richard Pickard's books will be available to purchase and be signed on the day (CASH ONLY)

The Peculiar Tale of the Tentacle Boy £6.99 (Pub Aug 21)      OR    Son of the Sea £7.99 (Pub May 23)

We are walking to and from the event, which takes place within the school afternoon.

Residential preparations

 

Dear Parents and carers,

I hope the packing and preparations for our year 4 residential stay are going well. Here are reminders of things that the children should bring or do:

• Everything you bring should be labelled (if you want to see it again).
• Children need a drink bottle, snack and packed lunch for the first day (and a backpack to carry it in).
• Children should bring at least 3 changes of clothes and a plastic bag to put dirty clothes in.
• Children should bring a toothbrush, toothpaste and other toiletries and a towel.  
• If children with long and thick hair coming to school with braids might minimise knots. 
• Everyone needs a raincoat and if you have them, water proof trousers. 
• Children need a change of shoes. Trainers for indoor and sealed surface use. Wellies or shoes that are happy to get dirty for woodland and use on the fields. 
• Children can bring a torch or nightlight. 
• Children can bring very small games, books and cuddly toys. 
• Children can bring a small quantity of sweets or snacks. This will be centrally stored (to avoid pests in the dorms) and so it must be labelled. 
• Any medication for your child should be given to a member of staff on Wednesday morning. Medication can only be given if a school medical form has been completed. 

Mr Spracklen will give updates to parents about how we are getting on via email. 

I hope you and your child have a restful evening.

Kind regards,

Ms Browne, Mr MacBean, Mrs Hall, Mrs Brooker, Mrs Bernard and Mrs Scott

 

Dress as a farmer, Harvest festival and Autumn fest

 

It's a busy day tomorrow (Friday 6th October). 

Children should come to school dressed as a farmer - however please don't worry if you don't have any farmer clothes as such. Children could simply come in jeans, joggers and plain coloured tops. 

Years 3 and 4 have their Harvest festivals first thing:

and then in the afternoon, year 4 will enjoy a workshop with Local food links. 

At the end of the day, families are welcome to come to the hall to taste some of the local food links foods. 

After school we have Autumn Fest - everyone is welcome so feel free to invite friends and family. 

  

Spellings and home learning

 

A big thank you to everyone who has supported their child in dressing up as an evacuee for Monday's farm visit. I was so sad not to be there but the photographs look fantastic. 

There is another dress up this Friday for our dress as a farmer day which coincides with our Harvest festival celebrations. 

Thank you also for your support with the children's dioramas. Yesterday the children showed one another what they had made and talked about photographs that they had sent in.  

For this week's home learning we have given the children the activity of talking to a trusted adult about something that worries them. This is part of a campaign to get Britain talking. 

Youtube link . 

Here are the spellings for this week. 

Evacuee farm visit, spellings and other upcoming dates

 

Hello everyone, 

It is year 4's evacuee farm visit experience on Monday. Please send children to school looking like a WW2 evacuee as much as you can manage, but please don't feel that you need buy anything new - it should very much be a make do and mend costume. Plain coloured skirts, shorts or trousers would work well but please also send your child in with shoes that could cope with mud! You may want to wrap up a box in brown paper if you have it to resemble a gas mask box but please don't worry if this isn't possible. 

This week's spellings

Other dates:

 Friday 6th October -    Dress as a farmer day for all children and staff

                                        Harvest Festival. KS2 event is at 9.15 - 10am

          

 Friday 6th October - Local Food links taster fayre in the school hall 3pm - 4pm

                                    Autumn Fest from 5pm

Wednesday 11th - 13th October - Our class residential. Details of today's presentation will be shared with families via email shortly. 

Monday 16th October - Dorchester Literary festival (details to follow)

Tuesday 17th and Thursday 19th October - Parents and carers evening (details to follow)

Friday 20th October - End of Term & start of Half term

Monday 30th October -  INSET Day

Tuesday 31st October - Pupils back to school. 

If you have any questions or concerns please email or speak to a member of the team. 

Kind regards,

The year 4 team.

What an amazing afternoon

Year 4 had the most wonderful afternoon at Dorchester's street's alive event. The weather was mostly kind to us and it was clear that the children had a fantastic time.